Late Nights & Early Mornings

Late Nights & Early Mornings
Studio album by Marsha Ambrosius
Released March 1, 2011[1]
Recorded 2009–2010
Genre R&B, soul
Language English
Label J
Producer Marsha Ambrosius (exec.), Rich Harrison, Focus..., Just Blaze, Dre & Vidal, Canei Finch, Syience
Marsha Ambrosius chronology

Late Nights & Early Mornings
(2011)		 Friends & Lovers
(2014)
Singles from Late Nights & Early Mornings
  1. "Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)"
    Released: August 13, 2010
  2. "Far Away"
    Released: December 7, 2010

Late Nights & Early Mornings is the debut studio album by English recording artist and former Floetry member Marsha Ambrosius. It was released by J Records on March 1, 2011. This was Ambrosius' only album for J Records before the label's dissolution seven months later.[2] The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 96,400 copies sold in the first week.[3]

Background

Songs from the album were produced and written by Ambrosius herself with other contributors, including Just Blaze, Dre & Vidal, Focus... and co-writing credits by Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill [4][5] The album also contains a cover version of Portishead's "Sour Times".[6]

Music

Ambrosius said that the overall vibe of the album is "sensual, it’s sincere, it’s seductive"[7] and also explained, “Not too many women get the opportunity to say what they want, and having controlled and written pretty much everything I get to do all of that on one album. J Records, they understood me as an artist and said, ‘What do you want? How do you want to sound? What do you feel like your album should be’ and they allowed me to go in the studio.”[7] Ambrosius describes the song, "Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)" as "the reality of a bad break up. "[4]

Singles

"Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)" was released as the album's first single on August 13, 2010.[8] The song charted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and peaked at number twenty-two.

"Far Away" was released as the album's second single on December 7, 2010. It is produced by Just Blaze and written by Marsha Ambrosius with co-writing by Sterling Simms.[9][10] The track was inspired by one of Ambrosius's own friends who committed suicide, and discusses how it feels once someone she's loved is gone. This song has also reached number three on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The title track, "Late Nights & Early Mornings", has been released as the third single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [11]
DJBooth [12]
The Village Voice (favorable)[6]

The album has received positive reviews from Allmusic and DJBooth. DJBooth.net's Nathan S. referred to the album as a "near-classic," stating "Marsha Ambrosius’ debut is the R&B album of the year." [12]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the United States Billboard 200 chart with 96,400 copies sold in the first week.[13] As of June 15, 2011, the album has sold 306,700 units in the United States.[14]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Anticipation" (Intro)Marsha AmbrosiusMarsha Ambrosius 1:29
2. "With You"  Marsha Ambrosius, Alicia KeysMarsha Ambrosius 5:09
3. "Late Nights & Early Mornings"  Marsha Ambrosius, Rich HarrisonRich Harrison 3:34
4. "Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)"  Marsha Ambrosius, Canei FinchMarsha Ambrosius, Canei Finch 4:06
5. "Far Away"  Marsha Ambrosius, Sterling SimmsJust Blaze 7:17
6. "Lose Myself"  Lauryn HillCanei Finch 5:03
7. "Your Hands"  Marsha Ambrosius, Andre Harris, Vidal DavisAndre Harris, Vidal Davis 3:30
8. "I Want You To Stay"  Marsha AmbrosiusMarsha Ambrosius 3:50
9. "Sour Times"  Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons, Adrian UtleyMarsha Ambrosius 3:20
10. "Tears"  Marsha Ambrosius, Norman WhitfieldFocus... 2:57
11. "Chasing Clouds"  Marsha Ambrosius, Reggie PerrySyience 3:45
12. "The Break Up Song"  Marsha AmbrosiusMarsha Ambrosius 3:29
13. "Butterflies (Remix)"  Marsha Ambrosius, Andre HarrisMarsha Ambrosius, Canei Finch 4:12

Album Personnel

Credits for Late Nights & Early Mornings from Allmusic.[15]

  • Marsha Ambrosius - Composer, Primary Artist, Producer
  • Glynis Selina Arban - Photography
  • Geoff Barrow - Composer
  • Adam Blackstone - Bass, Bass (Upright)
  • Mikaelin 'Blue' Bluespruce - Engineer, Mixing
  • Henry Brooks - Composer
  • Nell Brown - Engineer
  • Canei Finch - Composer, Mixing, Producer
  • Vidal Davis - Composer, Drum Programming, Mixing, Producer
  • DJ Aktive - Scratching, Turntables
  • Lamont Dozier - Composer
  • Peter Edge - Producer
  • Robyn Fernandes - Stylist
  • Focus... - Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer
  • Jesus Garnica - Assistant
  • Beth Gibbons - Composer
  • Erwin Gorostiza - Creative Director
  • Andre Harris - Composer, Engineer, Producer
  • Rich Harrison - Composer, Producer
  • Brandon D. Henderson - Engineer
  • Lauryn Hill - Composer
  • Brian Holland - Composer
  • Eddie Holland - Composer
  • Rayfield Holloman - Guitar, Musician
  • Michelle Holme - Art Direction
  • Jaycen Joshua - Mixing
  • Trevor Jerideau - Producer
  • JJ - Make-Up
  • Just Blaze - Producer
  • Alicia Keys - Composer
  • Ryan Moys - Engineer
  • Reggie Perry - Composer
  • Oscar Ramirez - Engineer
  • Montez Roberts - Engineer
  • Darrell Robinson - Brushes, Musician
  • Lalo Schifrin - Composer
  • Tippi Shorter - Hai Soon
  • Sterling Simms - Composer
  • Justin Smith - Composer
  • Syience - Musician, Producer
  • Otis Turner - Composer
  • Adrian Utley - Composer
  • Ryan West - Mixing
  • Norman Whitfield - Composer
  • Andrew Wright - Engineer

Chart positions

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 2
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1

References

  1. ↑ "Late Nights, Early Mornings: Marsha Ambrosius: Music". Amazon.com. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  2. ↑ Album Cover: Marsha Ambrosius – ‘Late Nights & Early Mornings’ rap-up.com. Retrieved 10-10-2010.
  3. ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus (2011-03-09). "Nicki Minaj & Rihanna Lose Their Tops, Eminem Can't Recover His Spot, Marsha Ambrosius Flows Onto The Chart". Sohh.Com. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 (August 2, 2010)Jermy Leeuwis, Marsha Ambrosius to release Late Nights and Early Mornings album musicremedy.com. Retrieved 10-10-2010.
  5. ↑ Gail Mitchell, (Posted: Sept. 25, 2010) Ex-Floetry Member Marsha Ambrosius Readies Solo Set Billboard. Nielson Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 10-10-2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Tate, Greg (April 6, 2011). Marsha Ambrosius Can Bring the R and the B - Page 1 - Music - New York - Village Voice. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2011-04-13.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Clover Hope, (posted: March 15, 2010) Marsha Ambrosius Discovers Herself On ‘Sensual, Seductive’ Solo Album vibe.com. Intermedia Vibe Holdings, LLC. Retrieved 10-10-2010.
  8. ↑ Hope She Cheats On You (With a Basketball Player) - Single by Marsha Ambrosius itune.apple.com. Apple, Inc. Retrieved 11-10-2010.
  9. ↑ "Connecting to the iTunes Store". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  10. ↑ Marsha Ambrosius Music New & Info Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10-10-2010.
  11. ↑ Kellman, AndyReview: Late Nights & Early Mornings. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-10.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Slavik, Nathan. "Late Nights and Early Mornings - Marsha Ambrosius Album Review". DJBooth.net. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  13. ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus (2011-03-09). "Nicki Minaj & Rihanna Lose Their Tops, Eminem Can't Recover His Spot, Marsha Ambrosius Flows Onto The Chart". Sohh.Com. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  14. ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus (June 15, 2011). "Tech N9ne Sticks Up Top 5, Rick Ross' MMG Detours Into Top 40, Marsha Ambrosius Gets Her Spot Back". SOHH.com. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  15. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/late-nights-early-mornings-mw0002058851/credits